a BROADcast for Manufacturers Keystone Click

Meet Jeff BeyleJeff started out writing software and then went to law school because he played softball with a bunch of lawyers and thought their work was interesting.
Then he got lucky and joined Coca-Cola and had the opportunity to move to Hong Kong. He spent 7 years there, focusing mainly on China and Korea. Jeff moved to Seattle to join Getty Images. Eventually, he had the opportunity to set up Getty Images’ business in Latin America. After he and his then-biz-partner sold that company to Getty Images, his current business partner convinced him to co-found SC Tech.
What are some of the advantages of not having a clearly aligned background in your current work? And what are some of the things that create obstacles or challenges? 
Every time I go into a customer facility, I'm a little bit on my back foot. When you go to this nondescript building open the door and it's like opening a Christmas present because you never know what's going to be in there.  
Technology, I don't understand all the details. It's much more of a user perspective because I just don't understand those details. And at this point, I'm not going to pretend like I'm going to get in there and figure it out. But you go into these buildings and you're like I don't know what I was expecting. But typically, this is not what I was expecting. And it's just so interesting. And I have a lot of known unknowns, but I have to go in with curiosity.
I have to go in and ask the expansive questions and ask follow up questions because I don't understand. But that really helps me understand. Can we help this business solve some problems, some pain point that they have? And if so, how are we going to do that in a way that works for them? Because I understand their business from their perspective, as opposed to bringing a lot of preconceptions.

What customers do you really enjoy working with the most?  
It's like that’s passionate about their business and says, “Oh, it's thermal treatment of metal products.”
You're not going to go to a party and people are going to say, “Oh, that is the coolest thing I've ever heard of in my life.” But there's so many ins and outs of each business. There's so many different products being manufactured, and there are different stages of how they build up these products from different suppliers. And each one is interesting in its own way. You're open to being interested in and curious about how this stuff works. And it's so much fun to talk to somebody who's passionate, whether it's a business that they just joined or they bought it or it's a family business or whatever. It's pretty exciting to go in and talk to people who really love what they're doing.
And I maybe one of the benefits of the pandemic and supply chain mess is more focus on how much fun and how interesting supply chain and manufacturing can be. There's a lot of press about how much fun it is to work at Google and you can play ping pong and all that stuff. That's nice in a way, but really so many people would get a lot more satisfaction of [manufacturing]. I'm using my hands, I'm using my brain and I'm making something. And it's not a trivial process. There's a lot that goes into it, and I think we've ignored that for a while. And hopefully that's turning a corner.

And so much more… 

Connect with Jeff!
LinkedIn
SC Tech
(720)432-5001

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Meet Retired LtCol Kathy Lowrey GallowitzRetired LtCol Kathy Lowrey Gallowitz is an award-winning businesswoman with first-hand experience hiring Veterans who coaches employers how to boost productivity and reduce turnover by hiring and retaining Veterans. She helps companies become “Veteran-Ready” through the creation of a Veteran Talent Strategy. Her “Veteran Talent Academy” equips employers to find, hire and leverage Veterans’ skillsets. She is the Founder & CEO of Vanguard Veteran, LLC, author of “Beyond ‘Thank You For your Service,’ The Veteran Champion Handbook” for Civilians and has Masters degrees in Nursing and Political Science. She grew up as a Navy ‘brat,’ served nearly 30 years as an Air Force Officer and is married to an Army combat Veteran. Kathy also equips volunteer faith community leaders to build Military Ministries to cultivate mutual support, a sense of belonging and spiritual resiliency for military-connected people
Why are veterans particularly well suited to work in manufacturing? Well, Kris, you're probably can answer this just as well since you've spent your entire career there. Still, I think top of the list is quality assurance, quality control, safety mindset, and operational discipline. Those are the attributes that align most beautifully within the manufacturing setting But then beyond that is our love for small unit integrity. And with that integrity comes teamwork, leadership, and camaraderie. In the military, we're broken up into small groups and into bigger groups. And it facilitates problem solving, critical thinking, chain of command. And all that stuff mirrors the manufacturing industry, because everybody's got to know their job. You got to do your job right the first time to create that product to meet mission. 
Then there are other attributes I've heard employers describe military people's anchors. They're anchors because we're used to managing stressful conditions, high ops tempo, and potential conflict. And so we're pretty good problem solvers, critical thinkers, and calm under pressure, so that anchoring has it's ripples throughout the organization and really makes a difference. The other key attributes that I should have introduced way up front are technical skills and aptitudes. 
Now we may not have the exact training on the exact piece of equipment, but one thing we do do is train, train, train, and train some more. And more often than not, it's technical. Now that wasn't my career. I was in nursing and public affairs and I'm not very technical, but most military people who are interested in manufacturing probably have some sort of technical aptitude that they can bring.
And so hiring for character and hiring for aptitude and training is in a manufacturer's best interest because you will get a return on investment by hiring that veteran that may have a different resume than you want. Take a chance, train them. You won't be disappointed.
Where do manufacturing employers find veterans?
That's one of the biggest complaints employers typically have because they feel confused and lost about how to connect with veteran talent. That's one of the things I do best. First of all, American job centers are all over the country and they give priority to military candidates. So that's a good place to go look.
And, as I understand it, most of those job seekers are unemployed. There are also local and national nonprofits that connect employers to veterans and or vice versa, and or prepare veteran job seekers. One of those is Hiring Our Heroes. One of those is 50 Strong. 
But you can go look in your local community and look at how you can find veteran talent. They are around certainly there is varying quality, but you could go talk to your Department of Veteran Services (VA). They should have some general understanding of where to find those kinds of services. Of course, if you have a

Meet Holly WhitcombHolly Whitcomb’s passion for helping people be their best drives her every day. Holly is the CEO and Founder of Novel Leadership, focused on the development of individuals and teams through coaching, workshop facilitation and consulting. Holly is well versed in working with front-line level leaders in manufacturing organizations as well as senior leaders in highly matrixed organizations.
Prior to founding Novel Leadership, Holly led 3M Company’s North America Learning & Development team where she worked directly with senior leaders to increase their leadership team effectiveness and leadership development needs across 3M’s back-office, client facing and manufacturing teams.

Why is leadership and all development important in manufacturing? 
Think about all of the changes that have happened over the course of the last 10 years, but even think about what we've been through in the last four years. And the impact that that has had on manufacturing environments, on teams. On all the challenges that have not been planned, even though we always say we plan for stuff, right? I think that that's where it really starts to come in and you start to understand the importance of this idea of building capacity, building skills, building agility across all levels of the organization, across all silos.
And the one thing that I've noticed over the course of the work that I've done is this silo has a tendency to be left back here sometimes when it comes to these corporate initiatives of development. And so that's why I think it's so critical because when we think about what kept things moving, it was the people who went in. It was the people who were on the floor. 
And so it's how do we help recognize the value in a different way? So that's kind of why it's important to me and one of my passion projects.

What are some of the most critical skills you find are lacking or really needed today? 
I don't know if this is just manufacturing. I think we're all recognizing that we are entering into what I call kind of this new phase of what it looks like to be an employee and be an employer in the world that we're in today. And mental health is a huge piece of that. Whole person is a huge piece of that. Inclusion is a huge piece of that.
And so I think a couple of the things that I think about in terms of skills when I talk with leaders is where you are with your understanding about your own emotional intelligence. How is your coaching capability? How are you delivering feedback? And how are you engaging with people on that whole person aspect of who they are. So the whole idea of psychological safety, how are you creating an environment where people feel safe to be who they are and bring their voices into the organization? And when I think about it, oftentimes people are like, “Oh, manufacturing. No, they're just, they're good. They don't need it.” And they may work on machines, but these are humans. And think about what it is that we need to do as leaders in order to be able to crack open what our whole team knows and creating that environment where people feel safe.

And so much more… 

Reference
Advertising spend will bounce back in 2024: S&P Global Ratings

Connect with Holly!
LinkedIn
Novel Leadership
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Meet Jim BohnJim Bohn PhD, is a researcher-practitioner focused on improving organizations one person at a time. He is a change management expert with decades of experience across multiple business markets and has spoken throughout the United States on topics of leadership, organizational performance and people development. He is currently coaching doctoral students at Concordia University. Dr. Bohn's focus is helping businesses throughout SE Wisconsin to overcome challenges and improve productivity. His primary research interest is Organizational Engagement, a complimentary approach to Employee Engagement. Dr. Bohn has multiple publications on Amazon.
How does your background uniquely make you suitable in the manufacturing space? 
Well, let's start with my background. I have run a punch press. I was a spot welder. I worked as a project manager across the United States with injection molding machines. I have machine oil in my veins. My father was a machinist. My son is a tool and dining maker journeyman.
I am sort of the black sheep of the family. I got the Ph. D. They did real work. But I have spent my time on the shop floor. I know what it's like to be out there. I've got a few scars with stitches to prove it. And I'm very proud of my blue-collar roots.

How do you get past the differences to get stuff done?
Well, it's a fundamental thing. You design the end. This is what we want to accomplish. [I’m] a baby boomer, as you can tell, I'm 71 years old. I offer some things. I've got a bucket of experience. I've seen lots of failure. But I don't have the skill set of some millennial who can launch the space shuttle from my phone.
And I think with all the generational differences, it's like “Okay, Boomer” or “Millennials are stupid.” If we do that, we're just shoving them into the corner as opposed to saying what can you bring to this? 
If you're a financial wizard and you're 18 years old, I don't care. I don't care where you came from. Bring your knowledge, bring your skill. A good leader will do that. And that's where I think that whole generational thing has been so divisive. It's helpful to understand. 
But again, I don't like it when somebody says, “Okay, Boomer,” because I look like an old man. Yeah, I'm old, but I can bring some things to you. I've seen the same stupid organizational mistakes over and over again. I can help you with that, but I'm not technically savvy. I want to know what you know, and I will learn from you if you slow down a little bit.

And so much more… 

Reference
Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023

Connect with Jim!
LinkedIn
doctorbohnphd@gmail.com 
People Development: The best part of leading a team

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Meet Scott SerokaScott is the president of Seroka Industrial Branding, providing fractional CMO services to small to medium-sized industrial companies. Scott’s approach to creating effective marketing strategies is centered on building strong, compelling, and well-differentiated brands and activating brands within organizations through organizing and mobilizing continuous improvement cultures. He is a certified brand strategist and also a Six Sigma Lean Black Belt Professional.
Let's talk about brands. What is a brand? I feel like a lot of people assume it's exactly the same as marketing. And I hear a lot of people think branding is just your logo, so let's talk about that. 
It's subjective, like art. If you look it up on Google, I think there are 3 million responses. It really is a unique set of distinctions that you or your company owns that makes a positive and noteworthy difference in the lives of customers.
And I always say not just the external customer that buys products and services, but the internal customer, meaning the people who you employ. So when we think about branding, there's the customer brand and your employer brand. And the employer brand is really coming on the scene with a lot of vigor because so many people are looking for good people.
And with the short supply and high demand of high quality people, how do we attract the kind of personnel we need to deliver upon our brand promise and exceed expectations? And who's going to actually care about us, our customers and our overall growth strategy? So brand has really taken on kind of a split personality in the past 10 or 12 years.
And it's amazing how many companies- unfortunately, mostly in manufacturing- don't have an employer page about the reasons that people should wanna work for your company as well as on the customer side. Why should people buy our products and services with all of our competition?
So it's really the complexity of branding here and it's even getting more complex as time goes on.

What do I need branding for? Why? 
So go back to why you started your business. If you started a business and you knew that it was going to be a price race, or if you knew that it was just gonna be as long as I deliver on time, then why did you take the risk of starting your business?
Go back to why am I doing this.  What void am I filling in the industry? What am I doing better than everybody else? What can I offer? What does my customer service look like? What kind of expertise do I have? What do I bring to the table when people say, “Oh, you have to buy from this company.”

And so much more… 

Connect with Scott!
LinkedIn
Seroka Industrial Branding 
scott@serokaib.com 
Direct line: (414) 628-4547

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Connect with Erin on LinkedIn for web-based solutions to your complex business problems!
Connect with Lori on LinkedIn and visit www.keystoneclick.com for your strategic digital marketing needs!  
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Meet Nicole DonnellyNicole is a fourth generation entrepreneur and the owner of DMG Digital - a content marketing agency for manufacturers. Nicole is the host of the Tales of Misadventure podcast where she invites successful entrepreneurs to share their stories of failure and how they turned lemons into lemonade.
You have two different cultures attempting to make something totally new together. Do you mind speaking to that challenge a little bit? And then what were the things that you did to navigate those two different cultures working together? 
They're to the point of education. These technical partners are sometimes so technical that they're way up here. And they've gotta step down and really try to meet these manufacturers where they are.
So, the first thing I think is so important is to help them in the discovery phase, really understand what are their business constraints. What's their pricing model? How are they shipping products now? And really understanding those constraints very, very well. That you can architect a solution that's gonna address and taking a crawl, walk, run approach to say we can't solve all these problems all at once. So Magento is an incredibly robust platform, so extensible. You can customize it to the nth degree, which is beautiful.
The great thing is that it can grow with the organization as they continue to evolve. But you gotta really understand upfront as much as possible what all of the business constraints are so that you can make sure that over time that's gonna be built into the platform.

Where would you advise that it makes good sense to put that 20% when you expect to go over budget? There's lots of places that money can go. 
You hit the nail on the head about it always going over. You have to set that expectation with the clients up front. 
Anyway, where would it go? It definitely depends on the manufacturer. Being able to integrate your e-commerce platform into your ERP is huge. And of course that's not something that you can always do right out of the gate, right? You gotta start with just getting their products catalog in there and everything.
But I would say that that would be something that you could invest in, like in a phase two or a phase three type of situation.

And so much more… 

Connect with Nicole!
LinkedIn
DMG Digital
DMG Digital Manufacturing and Marketing Insights

Connect with the broads!
Connect with Erin on LinkedIn for web-based solutions to your complex business problems!
Connect with Lori on LinkedIn and visit www.keystoneclick.com for your strategic digital marketing needs!  
Connect with Kris on LinkedIn and visit www.genalpha.com for OEM and aftermarket digital solutions!